Another Sex Scandal
Another elected official caught in a sex scandal. Seems authority figures caught in sex scandals are common in local and national politics, our high schools and even our churches. This scandal is very different for me as it’s a local Metro Council member who I know as a friend.
I blog about our relationship with God and with Others; a common conversation is about how Satan tempts us with sex outside of marriage. It’s glorified in movies, TV shows, and novels. I can’t buy groceries without being subjected to magazine covers at the check-out counter that glorify affairs. U.S. surveys to “Name Your Deadly Sin” show that LUST always ranks #1. Even in Old Testament days, Samson went after a harlot in Gaza (Judges 16:1) and King David turned lust into another sin: murder (2 Samuel 11).
We don’t set out to have an affair; we vow to be faithful when we get married and then Satan goes to work. We let him interfere with our relationship with God by using sex, a really great thing, in a bad way. Satan starts by making us feel guilty when we even think about sex outside of marriage, and then he lies to us: “Since you’ve thought about it, you’ve already sinned, so go through with it. You are already guilty; you might as well have some fun.”
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Let’s acknowledge:
1. Sex between other than a husband and wife is a sin
2. We are constantly tempted through media and other humans to sin through sexual intimacy outside of marriage
3. Sex is the #1 weapon that Satan uses in his arsenal to drive us away from God
4. Two things that drive us to sin are pride and pain, and Satan is quick to identify them in us
5. In trying to feed our pride or escape our pain, we want to be wanted, admired and loved by another human being
6. When prideful or in pain, only God can fill the emptiness we feel. God loves us and His love is all we need.
How We Stop Satan:
At the first thought of an affair we need to:
1. Seek close friends and clergy to help us discern why our current life of serving God is not fulfilling
2. Acknowledge that Satan is at work and we have a CHOICE whether to carry through on the temptation to the sin
3. Enhance our spiritual disciplines (e.g. prayer, meditation, Scripture reading) until we once again understand that God loves us and His love is all we need.
If we are married, we need to admit to our thoughts, honestly communicate each other’s needs, and seek pastoral counseling.
We must never put our desire for sexual intimacy above our relationship with God.
Are you or a friend involved in, or contemplating, an affair? I've been there; I know the temptation and the sin. Please forward this blog post. I look forward to hearing your comments and engaging in dialogue with you.
Blessings,
Agatha